The U.S. Labor Department's recent report, released last Friday, reveals that January's employment growth fell short of expectations, yet the unemployment rate showed an unexpected slight decline.
According to this highly anticipated report, non-farm payroll jobs increased by 143,000 in January, which was below economists' forecasts of a 170,000 job rise. Positive job growth in sectors such as healthcare, retail, and social assistance was partially negated by job losses in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industries.
In addition, the report highlights an upward revision in job gains for December and November, which rose to 307,000 and 261,000 respectively, representing a net adjustment increase of 100,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate slightly decreased to 4.0% in January from 4.1% in December, defying predictions that it would remain stable. This decrease is attributed to an increase of 234,000 in employment measured by the household survey, outstripping a 91,000-person increase in the labor force.
Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist at LPL Financial, commented, "An unemployment rate of 4% is considered very low, giving the Federal Reserve a reason to keep interest rates unchanged in the near term."
Furthermore, the report notes that average hourly earnings for employees rose by $0.17, or 0.5%, reaching $35.87 in January. On an annual basis, average hourly earnings increased by 4.1% in January, consistent with an upwardly revised figure from December.
